I was pretty surprised this summer when Entourage’s whole Aquaman gimmick blew up as much as it did. I was under the impression that the half hour series was kind of floating under the nation’s radar, being picked up for season after season by HBO because it was a relatively inexpensive to produce critical darling. Imagine my surprise when I read this article that all but declares it to be HBO’s next huge series, with the network expecting it to become their crown jewel after The Soprano’s gets taken out to the woods and shot.

Carolyn Strauss, the president of HBO Entertainment, has been making that point for months. Before the current “Entourage� season started, she called the series “the future of the network.� The truth is there is not a lot of competition for that designation at the moment. “Sex and the City,� HBO’s first great popular comedy, is long gone. So is “Six Feet Under.� Besides “The Sopranos� a batch of other HBO series are heading into their final seasons. “Deadwood� will have just a four-hour coda next season.

Even though its first season was both exciting and promising, HBO has already announced that “Rome� will have just one more season. HBO managed to talk Larry David into bringing back “Curb Your Enthusiasm� for one more go-round, but that will likely be its last.

The drama “Big Love� won wide critical acclaim in its first season, but its long-term prospects remain uncertain. Which leaves “Entourage,� a show that has clearly achieved a central goal for a series on HBO, a pay channel that depends on people feeling that they can’t afford not to pay the monthly fee: “Entourage� gets people talking.

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